Ironically, that’s why we’re so busy in first place. We work long hours to make a decent amount of pay so we can enjoy nicest cars, eat out at fanciest restaurants, and wear best clothing. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that these things are bad. I enjoy a good meal out and a nice pair of new shoes like most people would. What I’m saying is that we’re avoiding thing that REALLY makes us who we are – our inner self.

How often does average person take time out to do things that makes us truly grounded? I can’t give you statistical data, but answer question for yourself. What kinds of things do you do each day to connect with earth? Do you garden, go hiking, play an outdoor sport or recycle? Do you meditate often? When was last time you prepared a meal that didn’t come from a box, can or fast food window? If you’re average busy person, you may have to think for quite a bit before coming up with an answer.

I think one of most important things we can do to keep ourselves lively and healthy is to somehow connect with earth on a regular basis. You don’t have to be a hippie or tree-hugger to do it either. I’m talking about things that you can do right in comfort or immediate surroundings of your home. Bring nature into your home just as you would a close friend or family member, and I guarantee that your life and vitality will flourish.

There are so many ways that you can connect with earth at home. My favorite ways of connecting have to do with use of essential oils, herbs and other plant life in my daily activities. All living things contain a life energy that passes to other individuals who experience them. By making these things part of your every day life, you begin to absorb those life energies, making you a happier, healthier person.

We worry about problems, but worry is itself a problem. It inhibits clear thinking, it drains us of energy, it upsets our sleep and our digestion. It can make us irritable, bitter, regretful, pessimistic, depressed... What a price to pay for something that serves no useful function.

We learned to worry at a young age, but they were childish fears, but those childish fears carried on to adulthood. Worrying is about control, we all have a vision of how we want things to be, but when things or situations do not turn out as we expected we feel helpless and overwhelmed by an unpredictable and unkown future. We find it hard to let go of a problem, which then starts to contaminate our mind and thoughts. The truth is that we are our own worst enemy and many of our troubles are inside our head. We put stamp of who we are on every preception. We see world from viewpoint of ourselves and in doing so our emotions and fears blurr our vision.

Worry makes cowards of us all. It forces us to turn away from acting upon a problem or indeed it may even create illusion that problem doesn't exist in first place. Worry pushes us back into ourselves, reinforces impression that worst will happen, that we can't cope, that we are helpless in flow of circumstances which carry us inexorable towards unhappiness.

All of us who have worried have become experts in it over years. But worry itself is cunning, it is a distorting lens which hides from us lessons it is teaching. It causes us to see an opportunity as a risk and a challenge as a problem.

Problems are often created and imposed upon us by other people or rather, by our inablility to prevent other people from loading that weight of trouble on our shoulders. We habitually and implicityly say 'yes' to problems, because many of us do not have coping techniques to assert 'no'. Manuel Smith's 'When I Say No I Feel Guilty' is a useful and empowering book on assertiveness.

Potentially we have a great deal of control over way we talk to ourselves. But frequently, bleak melody of worry runs in our minds as a kind of background noise to our lives. The irony is that we don't even make an effort to eliminate it, but just listen to that same old tune of hopelessness and gloom. But by establishing a coping dialogue we can diminish and dispel tedious repetitiveness of worry. Take time out every day to give yourself a pep talk. Be upbeat, confident, determined. Simply tell yourself with as much conviction as you can muster that you are going to take deliberate action to achieve what you can and refuse to be troubled by circumstances that are beyond your control.

Below are some tips on how to control your worring. I know from experience that this is not an easy thing to do, but with a little patience and perserverance you will soon be able to control your worrying instead of it controlling you.